In the past year, we have added a large variable-width slit, a magnetic stirring apparatus, and a fixed-position cuvette holder to our NIR Raman blood analysis system. These improvements have allowed us to gather spectra of blood serum and whole blood with unprecedented accuracy. In our next round of improvements, we will integrate control of all system components (laser, CCD, power meter, and some optics) from a single computer interface, which will provide greater ease of use and greater flexibility in the design of new experiments.